From Goodreads.com: "Francis Bacon is
charged with investigating the murder of a fellow barrister at Gray's
Inn. He recruits his unwanted protégé Thomas Clarady to do the tiresome
legwork. The son of a privateer, Clarady will do anything to climb the
Elizabethan social ladder. Bacon's powerful uncle Lord Burghley suspects
Catholic conspirators of the crime, but other motives quickly emerge.
Rival barristers contend for the murdered man's legal honors and wealthy
clients. Highly-placed courtiers are implicated as the investigation
reaches from Whitehall to the London streets. Bacon does the thinking;
Clarady does the fencing. Everyone has something up his pinked and
padded sleeve. Even the brilliant Francis Bacon is at a loss — and in
danger — until he sees through the disguises of the season of Misrule."

My Two Cents:

"Murder by Misrule" is the first book in a new historical mystery series that has Francis Bacon as the protagonist and chief mystery solver. Yes, that Francis Bacon as in the famous English statesman and philosopher. This is a wholly original series that got off to a pretty good start!

Taking place in the Elizabethan age, this book has a seriously interesting setting. When the book opens, our hero, Bacon, is trying to gain the favor of the powers that be, namely that of the lovely Queen. Bacon knows he wants to climb that ladder but isn't sure that he really wants to put himself out there. In a lot of ways, he really is a reluctant hero, but really that made it a little more interesting to me that he was not all that interested in making waves. The transition between where he was at the beginning of the book and where he was by the end of the book was really interesting to witness.

Overall the story was pretty good. I loved the setting and I loved how Castle was able to weave a lot of historical figures and details together to really show the reader what Bacon's world might have been like. There were parts of the book that I thought could have been slimmed down a little bit. I also wanted to know more about the ending but it's hard to put down my thoughts on that part without knowing what awaits readers in the subsequent books!

Author Guest Post:

Out of all the philosopher-statesmen in all the books in all the world, why did I choose Francis Bacon to star in my historical mystery series? I wish I had an answer involving mountain tops and strokes of lightning, but the truth is, it was largely a pragmatic decision.

My first novel, which will never be published, was an historical romance set in 1101. I love the twelfth century; it was an exciting time with the kinds of large social transformations that attract my interest. But I wasn't happy with the lack of a vernacular literature and I draw the line at learning dead languages to research my novels. (That's about only line; I love reading history.)

So I started grazing forward, reading overviews and cruising Wikipedia. The 13th century is boring. The 14th century is depressing, what with the plague and all. The 15th century is confusing; too many players. Then I arrived at the sixteenth century and my spider sense started tingling. I don't like the Henrician period, it's too gloomy. Everyone was worried and fearful and for good reason. I like optimistic times, rising tides, expanding horizons. My characters are always climbers: people pursuing destinies, looking for a way to make their mark in the world. I like characters with aspirations.

Lo and behold, the late 16th century -- the Elizabethan period -- had all of those qualities and then some. You want a vernacular literature? Hello, Mr. Shakespeare! You want climbers? How about Sir Walter Raleigh, Francis Bacon, Robert Cecil, and Christopher Marlowe for a start. It was the Age of Aspiration, with everyone chasing an outsized dream. The world was expanding at a pace people found both dizzying and inspiring.

More than anyone, Francis Bacon embodied the transformation from the old world to the new. He stood on the threshold pointing, "The future is this way! Follow me!" Sometimes his foresight seems almost extra-terrestrial, but he took powdered steel for longevity and staunchly believed in the sanctity of monarchy. He didn't invent inductive reasoning, but he advocated it more lucidly than anyone before him. "Look at the facts," he said, over and over. "Gather evidence, analyze it, then draw your conclusions." Novel advice for the time; always good advice for a sleuth. He did some sleuthing, too, as a lawyer and later as a judge. Not the kind in my books, but he spent many hours examining witnesses and evaluating their testimony.

The more I read about Bacon, the more I love him as a character and respect him as a man, in spite of his failings. (He was an infant about money and he was not above a little hypocritical groveling to tease a favor out of a lord.) And the more I read about the Elizabethan period, the more I want to read.

Loving what I read and write is my aspiration.

Giveaway:

You can win a paperback copy of "Murder by Misrule" (open US/CAN only)!

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About Me

I have always loved to read. I decided to get into book blogging to share the books I love with other fellow readers! For any questions, comments, concerns or just to chat, shoot me an email at abookishaffair(at)gmail(dot)com ! I usually respond to emails quickly!
All opinions on this blog are my own, regardless of where I got the book!